wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “trash”
wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →
For “trash”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.
wp.org search ranks on
Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.
We add
A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Trash Fail Safe shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172)
wp.org #1 2 
Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779)
wp.org #5 ↓2 3 too low 3 
Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #8 ↑4 3 too low 6 
Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153)
wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 
WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131)
wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 
Archive Content with Archived Post Status 5K+ · 4.9★ (36)
wp.org #7 ↑12 1 too high 9 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #17 8 too low 10 
Bulk Delete 30K+ · 4.3★ (129)
wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 
Media Trash Button 400+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #2 9 too high 12 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195)
wp.org #20 8 too low 13 
Trash Duplicate and 301 Redirect 900+ · 4.3★ (36)
wp.org #12 ↓4 1 too high 14 A Attachment Pages Redirect 10K+ · 4.9★ (47)
wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too low 15 
Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↓1 16 
Image Source Control Lite – Show Image Credits and Captions 3K+ · 4.6★ (42)
wp.org #21 ↑2 5 too low 17 
ACF Frontend Admin by DynamiApps 8K+ · 4.5★ (160) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #23 ↓10 6 too low 18 
Autoremove Attachments 3K+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑2 1 too low 19 Trash Fail Safe 40+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↑1 15 too high 20 
Delete All Products for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓2 7 too high 21 
Delete product images for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 
Bulk Delete Comments 5K+ · 3.8★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓2 23 
The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too high 24 B Bulk Trash by URL 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 10 too high Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.